Confession Voluntary, Report Says

Psychologist: Teen Not Coerced

March 20, 1991|By MARK FELSENTHAL Staff Writer

MIDDLESEX — Chris Thomas, the 17-year-old accused of shooting the parents of his girlfriend, made statements to police voluntarily and was not coerced, a pyschologist's report filed in Circuit Court says.

The report, by Dr. Henry O. Gwaltney Jr. of Central State Hospital near Petersburg, follows a motion by Thomas' defense lawyer to have statements Thomas made to the police removed as evidence. According to papers filed on his behalf in Circuit Court, Thomas claims he was intimidated by police and not advised of his rights the day he is alleged to have shot Kathy and J.B. Wiseman at close range with a shotgun in their home near Hartfield.

The Wisemans' 14-year-old daughter, Jessica, is also charged with the murders.

Statements the teen-agers made hours after the shooting led to the charges, police have said.

Gwaltney's report says it is based on interviews with Thomas, local and state police, and Thomas' guardian and aunt, Brenda Marshall. He was not present when Thomas gave the statements.

According to his report, Gwaltney concluded that Thomas' statements to officers Nov. 10 were given knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily.

``The defendant's behavior at the times of his confession and when other statements were made was knowing, i.e. he understood he was waiving his rights, and intelligent, i.e. they were the product of a rational reasoning process,'' Gwaltney said in a report filed in court in Saluda Friday.

Thomas' attorney, Benton H. Pollok, is scheduled to argue to have the confession struck as evidence at a hearing Friday in Middlesex Circuit Court.

Pollok is also scheduled to argue that the case should be moved to another location or have a jury come from outside Middlesex, because widespread publicity about the case would make it too difficult to find people from the area who are impartial.